An Indulgent Weekend

I enjoy living in the slower-paced, beautiful and provincial city of Hue, but sometimes it is nice to get away for a bit to the ever-bustling and vibrant city of Hanoi and its plethora of modern niceties that I miss from home -- especially as it pertains to the many varieties of food that I miss. I know, I know...it is sad, but true that I really do enjoy my food.

Let me first say that I do like a wide variety of Vietnamese food, especially that found in Hue city, including fresh pork grilled spring rolls dipped in sweet and spicy peanut sauce, marinated pork barbeque with fresh rice noodles and chili, spicy and savory fish noodle soup, sweet yogurt drink with fresh cut strawberries, the best iced green tea I have ever had and ever-so-sweet Vietnamese coffee.

However, that being said, I do sometimes crave Haribo gummy bears, sharp cheddar cheese, spicy crackers, decadent chocolate desserts, garlic mashed potatos, grilled chicken breast marinated in red wine sause, yummy Indian food, sausage/egg/cheese breakfast burrito, a heaping salad of fresh greens with chicken strips and creamy balsamic dressing, American coffee....etc, etc, etc. I really could keep going on and on when it comes to food! Anyway, I am happy to say that I was able to have all of the above mentioned items and more during my last visit to Hanoi.

While the purpose of my visit was to act as a volunteer rep for the VSO advisory council and to meet with my partner organization (which I did responsibly), I must say that one of the key highlights of the trip was getting to indulge in some of the fabulous food I miss from home. I also got to spend time with some volunteer friends in Hanoi that I have not seen in quite some time as well as become acquainted with new volunteers that have recently arrived in country. Additionally, I was able to see some of the tourist sites that I had not had the opportunity to experience previously including a famous temple in downtown Hanoi and the water puppet theatre.

All in all, it was a nice, relaxing and indulgent trip. Now, I am content to be back in Hue enjoying my fresh spring rolls, fish noodle soup and pork barbeque for the time being.